Chapter 38: Drunken Words at the Celebration Banquet

The main hall of the Gu family was also bustling at the moment. Usually, the Gu family doted most on her youngest grandson, Zhang Jiu. Yet now, her gaze was fixed on the two unique young girls before her. After examining them thoroughly, she turned to the noblewoman sitting beside her and said, “Madam, you’re truly fortunate to have such lovely girls—like jade maidens—whose beauty never fails to bring joy.”

“They’re just obedient. With the old lady’s praise, they might get too complacent.”

Though she spoke humbly, a hint of undisguised pride appeared on the noblewoman’s face. She was Feng Lan, the sister of the chief wife, Feng Shi, but born out of wedlock. In the Feng family, she had to always consider others’ feelings. Unexpectedly, what should have been an ordinary marriage turned out to be a stroke of luck for her—her husband rose rapidly through the ranks and eventually became a fourth-rank governor of Kaifeng. Though not as prominent as Feng Shi, the wife of a vice minister, none of the other daughters in the Feng family fared better than her.

Feng Lan’s only regret was not having a son. But since she had managed to win over everyone in her husband’s household and her twin daughters were beautiful and graceful, no one paid attention to her lack of a son. She even adopted her husband’s son from a concubine. Her greatest concern was finding the best marriages for her two daughters.

As they were talking, suddenly the door curtain was lifted high, and a young maid rushed in at top speed. Before she could steady herself, she bowed and exclaimed, “Third young master… the third young master passed the annual exam!”

Sun Shi, who was pregnant, didn’t need to stand by like her sister-in-laws, serving others. She had been observing the twin sisters, one delicate and the other gentle, both looking truly endearing. She secretly wished she could have a beloved daughter too. Hearing the good news about her son, she was shocked and stood up immediately, even without the maid’s help.

“What do you mean he passed? Did Yuege pass his annual exam?”

Gu Shi raised her eyebrows in surprise, then showed delight. Although she had thought Zhang Yue was steady and diligent in his studies over the past four years, and he had passed the provincial exams before, she never expected him to rank high in the annual exam just a year after becoming a xiucai. As more maids and wives rushed in to congratulate her, she happily stood up and ordered Lingxi to fetch money as a reward.

Just moments ago, everyone in the room was focused on a pair of stunningly beautiful twin sisters. Now, upon hearing this good news, aside from Lady Sun’s evident joy, even Lady Feng and Lady Dongfang couldn’t help but offer a few flattering words, though each of them had their own thoughts.

Lady Feng’s son, Zhang Jiu, had previously taken the imperial examination alongside Zhang Yue but failed. Although it would have been easy for her to use her husband’s official status to secure him a position as a supervised student, the thought of her prodigious son losing out to a mediocre nephew made her feel somewhat resentful. As for Lady Dongfang, though she held little regard for the title of scholar, she still hesitated to send her son into military service, fearing for his life on the battlefield, and her smile seemed forced.

Zhang Yue was escorted into the room by his brothers Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi. Upon entering, he noticed a few extra women present and, for a moment, thought it might be his elder sister Zhang Qing returning from visiting her family. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t her, and he felt disappointed. Zhang Qing had married Meng Jun, the grandson of Marquis of Baoding Meng Shan, two years earlier. The marriage had been arranged by Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, and both families were quite satisfied with it.

The most dissatisfied seemed to be Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi. As for Zhang Yue, he hadn’t expected Zhang Qing to get married so early. But after talking with Meng Jun, who had come personally to pick her up, he found her to be a fine woman and felt relieved.

“Grandmother, may you be in good health!”

After smiling and bowing, he looked up and saw Lady Gu waving at him. He quickly stood up and stepped forward, ending up right in front of his grandmother. Perhaps because of the guests present, Lady Gu’s silver hair was tied up in a golden bun, and she wore a dark green robe adorned with patterns symbolizing prosperity. She appeared more energetic than usual, her gaze filled with boundless kindness and approval as she looked at him.

“Good, good! Starting school at thirteen—three years earlier than your uncle—and now achieving such excellent results. Our Zhang family has gained even more honor this time. Hmm, they rushed to bring me the good news just now, and I forgot to ask—what rank did you achieve?”

Before Zhang Yue could answer, Zhang Chao interjected, “Grandmother, it’s first rank!”

Gasps of surprise filled the room. Lady Dongfang immediately chimed in jokingly, “Brother Yue has truly made progress in his studies over the years. I heard that only the top ranks in the annual exams qualify one to take the provincial examination directly, and it’s rare to see someone achieve first rank on their first attempt!”

Feng Lan, though an outsider, seized the opportunity and didn’t want to fall behind, so she also fawned, saying, “I’ve long heard that the Zhang family has strict discipline. Now that the grandson is young and about to enter school, his future is bright—surely it’s because of the old lady’s excellent guidance?” Gu Shi paid no attention to praise from those within her family, but she saw things differently when it came from outsiders. With a smile, she nodded at Feng Lan, then pulled Zhang Yue over and said, “Go and meet your Aunt Feng, as well as your sisters Heng and Su.” Hearing it was Aunt Feng, Zhang Yue knew it must be a relative from his aunt’s family. After bowing to greet her, he saw Feng Shi smiling as she handed him a purse, and he hesitated for a moment. “Take it. Your Aunt Feng isn’t an outsider. Your uncle is now the governor of Kaifeng, and you’ll have many chances to meet him in the future; you’ll surely need to seek his advice.” Hearing Gu Shi’s words, Zhang Yue finally took it and thanked her again. When he met his twin cousins, he was stunned to see them wearing identical silver-red silk gowns, identical lotus-colored pleated skirts, and even the same hair accessories, necklaces, and earrings. How could anyone tell them apart without any distinguishing marks? As men and women should not be too familiar with each other, it wasn’t a big deal for him to glance at his own sisters, but staring at his cousins was highly inappropriate. So after the formalities, he returned to his mother’s side. Unexpectedly, he heard his grandmother speak up again. “This is the first time Brother Yue has achieved first-class results in his exams. Since your aunt is here, let’s make it a lively occasion. Lingxi, go tell the kitchen maids to prepare carefully. Let’s hold a feast right here in my main house today, so everyone can eat freely. Oh, and send a few people to fetch something—I remember there’s still a ptarmigan fur coat that can be given to Brother Yue to wear in winter. Also, since no new clothes have been made at home in these four years, bring out as much brocade, satin, and silk as possible so everyone can have new clothes made.” The great flood four years ago had severely weakened the Zhang family. Not only had they lost many possessions, but their fields outside the city also yielded nothing. Coupled with poor harvests over the past few years, the family still hadn’t fully recovered. Hearing Gu Shi order new clothes to be made for everyone, most were overjoyed, as they were already tired of their old clothes and impatient for fresh ones.

Zhang Yue opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end kept it shut—compared to those who were greedy or raised rents, the Zhang family had given away porridge and old clothes to reduce the rent. If he now advised them not to make new clothes to show off, it would be tantamount to insulting his grandmother. After all, a few new clothes wouldn’t make much difference in the vast city of Kaifeng, so there was no need to overreact.

The kitchen had spent over an hour preparing this meal: four kinds of snacks and eight dishes of cold dishes. For the hot dishes, there were lamb with pepper, spicy vinegar-wrapped kidneys, steamed chicken, crispy pig ears, and eight other dishes, along with seasonal fresh vegetables, filling an entire table. Mrs. Gu sat in the center, with all the younger members sitting around her. Mrs. Feng handled the chopsticks, Mrs. Dongfang arranged the dishes, and the pregnant Mrs. Sun was assisted by Lingxi to eat in a separate room next door.

Perhaps after drinking a few cups of wine, on a whim, Mrs. Gu said to Feng Lan with a smile, “Your two daughters are both very lovely. Would you be willing to give one of them to my Zhang family as a daughter-in-law?”